Multibeam mapping of the Pinnacles region, Gulf of Mexico

Open-File Report 2002-6
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Abstract

Recent USGS mapping shows an extensive deep (~100 m) reef tract occurs on the Mississippi-Alabama outer continental shelf (Figure 1). The tract, known as "The Pinnacles", is apparently part of a sequence of drowned reef complexes along the "40-fathom" shelf edge of the northern Gulf of Mexico (Ludwick and Walton, 1957). It is critical to determine the accurate geomorphology of these deep-reefs because of their importance as benthic habitats for fisheries. The Pinnacles have previously been mapped using a single-beam echo sounder (Ludwick and Walton,1957), sidescan sonar (Laswell et al., 1990), and the TAMU2 towed single-beam sidescan-sonar system (Anonymous, 1999). These existing studies do not provide the quality of geomorphic data necessary for reasonable habitat studies.

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Publication type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Title Multibeam mapping of the Pinnacles region, Gulf of Mexico
Series title Open-File Report
Series number 2002-6
DOI 10.3133/ofr026
Year Published 2002
Language English
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Contributing office(s) Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
Description HTML Document
Country United States
Other Geospatial Gulf Of Mexico
Online Only (Y/N) Y
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